Grammys: New artists with simple messages shake up nominations

This post has been updated. See below for details.

Whether Grammy voters will recognize it or not, it’s been a curious and transitional year for popular music. A few of its brightest new stars, 17-year-old New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde, country singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves and the DJ-producer team Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, whose ascent from YouTube fame to Staples Center headliners was remarkably quick, were virtually unknown at the time of last year’s ceremony.

In their own ways, all wrote of thriving — not through wealth and fame but through creativity and honesty. When the nominees for the 56th Grammy Awards are announced at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles on Friday evening, expect the three acts to take steps toward the kind of mainstream stardom that will afford them luxuries they don’t claim to need — or, as Lorde sings in “Royals,” “That kind of luxe just ain’t for us.”

Kanye West’s croissants be damned.

FULL COVERAGE: Grammy Awards 2014

That the trio first hit big with songs that celebrated frugality is notable. Macklemore donned fake fur in a genre known for celebrating cash and fashion with a quirky left-field ode to thrift shopping, “Thrift Shop.” Despite being primed for stardom since she was an adolescent, Lorde seemed to come beamed from the cosmos to pump up the proletariat in “Royals.” Musgraves, whose “Same Trailer, Different Park” dug into the rough lives of the underclass, has earned her country-music buzz in with the magnetic realism of “Merry-Go-Round.”

Ascending alongside them to infiltrate the 2013 American pop psyche were a similarly varied roster of hitmakers likely to land big-time nominations. Daft Punk broke from cult status into the mainstream when the robot-headed French duo resurrected disco with the Pharell-voiced groover “Get Lucky,” a virtual lock in the song- and record-of-the-year categories. The album from which it was taken, “Random Access Memories,” is in serious running for album of the year as well.

Ditto longtime pop royalty Justin Timberlake, who returned to music after a hiatus acting in rom-coms and “The Social Network” to conquer with “The 20/20 Experience.” That record and its best single, “Mirrors,” stand to land multiple nominations (and dentist-office soundtracks for decades to come).

PHOTOS: Winners from the 2013 Grammy Awards

JT’s brunet clone, Robin Thicke, borrowed the vibe of Marvin Gaye for his ubiquitous and totally grooving hit single “Blurred Lines.” And despite the controversy surrounding the song’s origins (to say nothing of the artistic and commercial failure of Thicke’s album), the throwback jam portends nominations in major song categories.

Nashville superstar Taylor Swift strayed from her country comfort zone to tackle mainstream pop and woo many critics with “Red.” Whether she’ll be rewarded or punished will be one of the evening’s most intriguing storylines. The record’s biggest hits, “I Knew You Were Trouble” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” ruled the year, and her efforts to bridge genres and demographics paid off for 12 solid months.

Toronto rapper Drake, also strived for crossover, albeit of a different variety with his rap album “Nothing Was the Same.” Vying for both the puffy-chested men and the ladies who love them (when they’re not messing with their heads), Drake successfully connected demographics, always a wise strategy amid a Grammy votership that rewards versatility. The era’s most bankable young middle-of-the-road artist, Bruno Mars, stands to succeed with his similarly friendly offering, “Unorthodox Jukebox,” likely to be celebrated for its catchy and streamlined pop-rock.

TIMELINE: Grammy winners through the years

Most of these artists scored big enough to suggest they’ll be among those popping corks when the Grammy nominations are announced. Less certain is the Friday-night fate of those who landed with hits this year.

Imagine Dragons channeled both rock and electronic dance music, and the combination on “Radioactive” made it one of the year’s most relentless (and only) big rock hits. At the opposite end of the emotional spectrum was Lee Brice’s heart-wrenching “I Drive Your Truck,” in which one brother mourned the death of another by inhabiting his pickup.

A couple of other young men and potential Best New Artist nominees Florida Georgia Line rolled with St. Louis rapper Nelly for “Cruise.” For his part, Compton breakout rap star and fellow could-be Best New Artist nominee Kendrick Lamar rhymed of rolling on his turf through Rosecrans and the 405 throughout his “Good Kid, MAAD City,” which is also being mentioned as a contender for Album of the Year (and most of the hip-hop categories).

PHOTOS: Best & worst moments from 2013 Grammys

And, oh, yeah, Miley Cyrus. The former Hannah Montana ruled the conversation in 2013 through both her songs and her polarizing MTV VMA performance, but whether that translates to artistic recognition is less certain. More likely is that Katy Perry’s “Roar” will snag the spot in the song or record categories in Cyrus’ stead.

Too, superstar rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West both issued big-time solo albums, the better of which, West’s “Yeezus,” was as polarizing as it was inventive. But in a year in which lyrics about shopping on the cheap and rolling on public transit were screamed more often than were Westian demands for dinner “in a French-ass restaurant,” the shifting lyrical priorities of the pop-buying public portends a Grammy year in which humility will likely trump tiresome money flinging. We hope.

Update, Fri., 8:59 a.m. An earlier version of this post indicated the 56th Grammy Awards would be announced today. Only the nominees will be announced.

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The Grammy Nominations Concert: Live From the Nokia Theatre

With: Miguel, Robin Thicke, Lorde, T.I., Keith Urban, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Enrique Iglesias and others

When: 7 p.m. Friday (broadcast via tape delay on CBS TV, 10 p.m.)

Info: https://www.grammy.com

randall.roberts@latimes.com